In a bid to target high-net-worth investors in Singapore and other parts of Asia looking for Australian homes, one of the leading non-bank mortgage providers down under recently opened a branch office in Singapore – the first in Asia.
With its headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, privately-owned First Mac has over 30 years of experience and currently manages around A$4.5 billion (S$5.65 billion) in mortgages.
In an exclusive interview with PropertyGuru, its Chief Financial Officer James Austin said: “Prior to the 2008 global financial crisis, around 40 percent of our customers came from Europe. But with investor sentiment there turning negative due to the Eurozone situation, we have turned our sights to Asia.”
He added that while many Asian investors remain cautious on cross-border investments, the recent interest rate cut (by 25 percentage points to 3.25 percent) from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and expectations of major lenders following suit and passing on the rate cut in full is likely to jump start buying interest in the region.
If they pass on the cut, repayments on an AU$300,000 (S$379,480) mortgage will decline by almost AU$50 (S$63.25) per month.
At the same time, Austin said: “Australia’s housing market and economy continues to be strong, pushed up by the mining and trading business. Moreover, the population is also growing.”
He noted that Australia remains an active market for Asian families looking to send their children abroad to study.
Meanwhile, First Mac has just registered its managed fund called High Livez with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Going forward, the Singapore office, managed by Director Alfred Goh, has plans to grow the business and also expand to other parts of Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan.
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